Lewis Shi, M.D., Ph.D. Lewis Zhichang Shi, M.D., Ph.D., was appointed as first holder of the Koikos-Petelos-Jones-Bragg ROAR Endowed Professorship for Cancer Research at UAB by the University of Alabama System Board of Trustees during its Feb. 3 meeting. 

Shi is associate professor and director of radiobiology in the UAB Heersink School of Medicine Department of Radiation Oncology. He came to UAB in 2018 from Case Western Reserve University, where he was an assistant professor, following his appointment as a research faculty member and instructor at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, where he worked on cancer immunotherapy for a number of years with Padmanee Sharma, M.D., Ph.D., and Nobel Laureate James P. Allison, Ph.D.

At UAB, Shi has established an outstanding research program in the Department of Radiation Oncology investigating the interaction of T-cell metabolism and radiotherapy, resistance to immunotherapies, and fundamental mechanisms underlying the role of the immune system in cancer therapies.

“We were so excited when Dr. Shi elected to come to UAB even though he had offers throughout the country,” said Department of Radiation Oncology Chair James A. Bonner, M.D. “He has worked extremely hard to become a strong collaborator with numerous UAB investigators. He is truly a team player and embraces all aspects of our tripartite mission (education, research, clinical care).”

Shi has served UAB’s scientific community in numerous other ways, including as a core member of the Protocol Review Committee in the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center, a reviewer for junior faculty grants, and as a faculty member for the Biomedical Scientist Training Program (PSTP).

He was recently recognized as the winner of the UAB Heersink School of Medicine’s Featured Discovery in October 2022, which celebrates important research from Heersink faculty members. Shi was chosen for his melanoma research published in Nature Communications.

Shi’s research has also been recognized through numerous awards including the Cancer Research Institute, Clinic and Laboratory Integration Program (CRI-CLIP) Investigator Award, in 2022; the V Foundation Scholar Award, in 2018; the First Immuno-Oncology Young Investigators Forum Award, in 2015; the Society of Toxicology Best Postdoctoral Publication Award, in 2009; and the Best Graduate Student in Health Sciences, Wayne Kessler Award, at Purdue University, in 2005. 

Shi has also served the national scientific community as a reviewer of grants for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and U.S. Department of Defense, and has received funding for his groundbreaking research from these national groups and many other organizations.

“I really appreciate the strong support and trust from the department by nominating me for this endowed professorship, which is a huge honor and a privilege to my group and myself. I want to thank everyone in this department and the UAB community for making me feel right at home from the get-go.” Shi said.

The Koikos-Petelos-Jones-Bragg ROAR Endowed Professorship is made possible through funding by the 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization Radiation Oncology Accelerated Research (ROAR), which is dedicated to raising funds for the UAB Department of Radiation Oncology’s research program. The endowment is named for past ROAR honorees and supporters Jimmy Koikos, Tony Petelos, Randall Earlie Jones, and Rick Bragg.

Shi will be honored at a reception hosted by the UAB Heersink School of Medicine, on April 25, 2023.